


John Watson's Summer

by Small_Hobbit



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-29 10:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11439219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: Odd days (mostly very odd) in the life of Dr John Watson.





	1. Note To Self

**Author's Note:**

> Written for DW's Watson's Woes July Writing Prompts

John had raced out of the flat grabbing the sticky note he’d written the night before.  Tired on the way home, he took the note out of his pocket to see what he needed to buy.  He was fairly sure they needed milk and jam, and there was something else, but he couldn’t quite remember what.

The list, in a distinctive handwriting completely unlike his own, said:

  * Vinaigrette, three types: cheap, medium and best
  * Eggs, selection of sizes and colours
  * Papaya



It was possible, John thought, Sherlock was making a salad.  It was more likely he was making a mess.


	2. Safety in Numbers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was Sharing Your Expertise.

“Let me get this right,” John Watson said.  “You want me to come with you when you meet your boyfriend, because you are scared of what you might find.”

“Your wording is a little harsh,” Sherlock Holmes replied, “but in essence, you are correct.”

“Why?  You haven’t said anything about him having been hurt, and therefore having wounds I need to treat.”

“He isn’t.”

“And you’ve never given any indication of worry when he’s busy abseiling down the tallest building he can find, something which might possibly concern a lesser lover.  But anyway, Stanley’s a stickler for safety, so I can’t see this should be a problem.”

“It’s nothing like that.  Can we just go?”

***

To John’s relief, they reached the part of the embankment where Sherlock was due to meet Stanley without incident.

“There!” said Sherlock, pointing with a hand which he was never going to admit was shaking slightly.

“Oh how lovely,” John said.  “They’re Brownies aren’t they?”

Stanley waved, and John dragged a reluctant Sherlock over to join the girls, who were sitting in a circle, Stanley sitting with them.

“I’m glad you two could join us,” Stanley said cheerfully.  “We’ve had a lovely time this evening.  We’re just playing wink murder.”  He turned to the Brownies.  “Do you think we should have one more go and ask Sherlock Holmes to be the detective this time?”

The girls all chorused ‘yes’ in a deafening fashion.  Sherlock glared at Stanley.

John took Sherlock further away so he couldn’t hear who the chosen murderer was.  He returned and instantly the Brownies began to drop like flies, most of them giving blood-curdling screams as the murderer winked at them.

Sherlock took a deep breath.  “Inspector Hopkins,” he said, “you are the murderer.”

Stanley laughed and stood up.  “Well done, great detective,” he said.  “And would you now present all the Brownies with their crime prevention badges, which they have worked very hard for.”

Sherlock looked as if he’d rather run away than do so, but John elbowed him in his ribs and he agreed.


	3. Sherlilocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Baby Bear and Sherlilocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was 'Fairy Tale'

Once upon a time, there was a Baby Bear.  Baby Bear was unhappy because Sherlilocks had consumed all the milk which was meant to go in Baby Bear’s tea; filled Baby Bear’s favourite armchair with so many books and papers he was unable to sit in it; and Baby Bear didn’t know what Sherlilocks had done to his bed, because he wasn’t given the chance to see it, as he was dragged out all night on an important case.

Fortunately for Baby Bear, Prince Stanley arrived and took Sherlilocks off to investigate a crime involving some boats on the Thames.


	4. Big Fish, Little Fish

By the time Sherlock and Stanley returned, John had slept for a few hours, gone out and bought milk and other essential items (tea bags and washing up liquid), ignored Sherlock’s note requesting tinned spinach (who eats tinned spinach?), and turfed the contents of his armchair onto the floor. 

Sherlock strolled back into the room and greeted him with, “Wouldn’t you agree, John?”

John’s sense of self-preservation caused him to glance at Stanley, who was following in Sherlock’s wake.  Stanley nodded his head, so John felt safe in saying, “Yes!”

“In summary,” Sherlock said, clearly to remind John what he’d agreed to, “I know who the big fish are.  I know who the little fish are and how I can use them to catch the big fish.  I just need to decide how best to entice the little fish.”

“Cardboard box,” Stanley said.

“What?”  Sherlock spun round to look at him.

“Big fish, little fish, cardboard box!”

John giggled, and he and Stanley repeated the phrase, with the accompanying actions.

Sherlock glared at them.  “I am not going to use a cardboard box.  Oh, but I am.  A box, with the lid partway off.  The little fish swim in to see what’s inside and I use the lid to trap them.  Brilliant!”

Sherlock took out his mobile and began sending rapid texts.

John looked at Stanley and grinned.  “Do you think I should tell him the cardboard’s going to get rather soggy?”


	5. Richard III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was 'A trip to the theatre'
> 
> Written in a hurry on return from A trip to the theatre!

“That was an excellent production,” Sherlock said to John as they exited the cathedral.

“Yes, I was really impressed with the way they made use of the limited space.  Telling the tale with very limited props takes some doing.”

“Which just shows how extremely good the actors were.”

“I’m quite surprised you liked it though.  It’s not as if it’s difficult to spot the villain.”

“Ah, but then that’s only the playwright’s villain.  Shakespeare knew what he had to write if he wanted to avoid the fate of eight of the characters.”

“So, a good evening?”

“A very good evening!”

 


	6. The Sleeper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A 221B based on the prompt of "Exhaustion"

“Sherlock!  Sherlock!”

Sherlock tried his hardest to ignore Mrs Hudson’s thumping on the door.  He was in his mind palace and slowly the connections were coming together.  But all the thumping was breaking the links he was painstakingly constructing.  Finally, since it had become evident she would not take the hint and go away, he got up and opened the door.

Mrs Hudson glared at him.  “It’s John!”

“What about him?”

“He’s asleep on the stairs.”

“And?”

“He can’t stay there.  He’s untidy and someone, probably you, will fall over him.”

“Yes, right.  I’ll see to him later.”  And with that Sherlock retreated back into his room, shutting the door pointedly behind him.  He ignored the very audible sigh which came from the other side.

Quarter of an hour later, Sherlock realised what he was missing.  A quick trip to the British Museum and he would have all the information he needed.

He ran down the stairs, and tripped over John’s sleeping body, falling the rest of the way to the bottom where he landed with a loud thud.

John muttered, rolled over and continued sleeping.

Mrs Hudson appeared on the landing, “Well, I did warn you dear!”

Sherlock groaned and gingerly got to his feet.  He made a mental note he would have to move John when he came back.

 


	7. The Ghostly Client

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The latest client is a ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was "No Ghosts, Demon Hounds, Vampires, etc. Need Apply. Well, what if they DID?"

John returned from work to find a semi-opaque being occupying a seat on the sofa. 

“A new client, I suppose,” he said.

Both Sherlock and the ghost gave him a withering look.

“Right, do you both want tea then?” John added.

The ghost’s expression closely resembled Sherlock’s when he complained about being surrounded by morons.

“Okay, just you then Sherlock.”

When John returned with the tea, he found the ghost waving his hands around as if explaining something and Sherlock apparently deep in thought.

“Excellent,” Sherlock said, “A new case, and one which should prove interesting.”

“A recent case?”

“Hardly.  Apparently you don’t instantly become a ghost.  And our friend here then spent a while trying to get some attention from Scotland Yard – as if that ever helped anyone.  And he has to come in from Harrow every day and it appears ghosts can’t use the tube, so he’s been forced to catch the bus.”

There was some agitated waving from the ghost.

Sherlock paused, then added, “And only the upper hierarchy can use the buses during rush hour.”

Suddenly the ghost leapt up and ran out of 221B.

John shook his head in the hope this would remove all thoughts of the ghost, which had clearly been a mental aberration. 

This hope was destroyed when Sherlock said, “He has to be back before 6pm or it does strange things to his ectoplasm which means it will be a while before he can materialise again.  Clearly he needed to catch the bus before rush hour started.  I never realised how complicated it was being a ghost.”

“So what’s the case?” John asked slowly.

“Really, John, that should be obvious even to you.  He wants us to find out who his murderer was.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“First I shall need to establish some of the facts.  Understandably, my client’s information stops suddenly at the point of his death.  And whilst the events before a death are useful, those which occur immediately after may tell us more.  Pass me your laptop.”

John did as he was asked, muttering about what was wrong with Sherlock’s own one as he did so.

“If I use your laptop I don’t have to put up with the painful sound of you typing on it.”

“What are you looking for?  The results of the investigation from when he died?”

“There was no investigation.  Death was put down to natural causes.”

“Then how does he know he was murdered?”

“Apparently when you check in wherever it is you check in it flags up that you’ve been murdered.”

“How?”

“I’m not entirely sure, since I’ve never experienced it and the client is a bit hazy.  It came as rather a shock to him.”

“Understandable.”

“Oh, now that’s interesting.”  Sherlock flicked between tabs as he checked something.  “The post-mortem was conducted by the partner of one of our client’s sisters.”

“Surely that’s not allowed?”

“Presumably no-one realised.  There would be no connection with the names, and since there was apparently nothing untoward no-one would have looked very closely.”  There was a pause and then Sherlock said, “I can see how it was done.”

“Can you prove it?”

“Sufficiently for a court of law?  Probably not.  Sufficiently for our client to take action?  I think so.”

“But what’s the client going to do?  He can’t go into a police station and make allegations, even supposing he had sufficient proof.”

“He’s a ghost.  What would you do if you were a ghost and you’d just found out who’d murdered you?”

John grinned.  “Of course.  I’d go and haunt them!”

“Exactly!”


	8. Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was Paganini's original caprice.
> 
> I've heard Stephen Hough in recital, but sadly never playing this piece: [BBC Proms 2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c33q87s03h4)

“Sherlock,” John whispered urgently.

“What is it?”

“I thought Paganini wrote violin music.”

“He did, this is Rachmaninov’s orchestration for the piano.”

“Oh, then Stephen Hough’s a pianist?”

“Yes.  Now be quiet and let me enjoy it.”

John sat, spellbound by the playing.  He even gave an involuntary sigh during the 18th variation.

And after the piece came to a close and the audience began to applaud he joined them in giving Hough a standing ovation.

“How did it manage that ending?” John asked.

“Pure genius.  Apparently even Rachmaninov used to take a shot of crème de menthe before playing.


End file.
